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Ever the real gentleman, John Lloyd Cruz refutes rumors about his reluctance to team-up with Bea Alonzo.

By Napoleon Quintos

Ever since John Lloyd Cruz was named as the mysterious Armando Solis of I Love Betty La Fea, a lot of speculation was made on the real reason behind the long wait for his part in the show. After all, it was widely known that he and Bea Alonzo were supposed to pursue their individual growth as artists. The local media remained unconvinced with John Lloyd’s explanation that he was merely following ABS-CBN management’s plans for him which he believes are all for the best. And above anything else, the clamor for his and Bea’s team up was so huge to be ignored.

John Lloyd reiterated this during the fabulous presscon of I Love Betty La Fea last Thursday, August 28. “Even before One More Chance ang talagang plano medyo maghiwalay muna kami ni Bea. Pero, kailangan namin ng sustaining [project together]. It may be on TV or sa film, nagkataon lang na nangyari siya sa TV so ‘eto yun. Hindi namin pwede pabayaaan na lang yung mga nirerequest ng mga sumusuporta sa amin. Hindi namin pwede idisregard yun. They matter to us. Sobra-sobra na kailangan naming pagbigyan.”

However, many have noted the fact that during the official introduction of the complete cast that same night, it was Bea who was last to walk the red carpet at Eco Moda Manila. And given her title role, it was simply evident that John Lloyd wasn’t at par with Bea in the billing compared to their previous teleseryes. But instead of feeling offended by the theory that he had qualms about the project because of this, John Lloyd easily refuted it with his humbling statement. “Alam ni’yo ho, nagsimula kami 8 years ago. Sobrang tagal na namin. At sa 8 years na yun, sa ganun katagal na panahon, ang tagal naming nagtulungan. Ako nakatulong siguro ‘ko sa kanya at siya maraming naitulong sa akin. Ngayon, magkakaroon ako ng pagkakataon para maibalik kay Bea yung tulong na ibinigay niya sa akin. Ito, kulang pa ito sa pagsuporta na utang ko sa kanya sa lahat ng naitulong niya sa akin,” he stressed.

With his noble intention in mind, Bea of course felt really flattered and she was quick to return John Lloyd’s compliments. “Masayang-masaya po ako to hear those words from him. Kasi never pa kaming nagkaroon ng talk after, I mean, since nagstart po yung taping dahil sobrang busy. Sa totoo lang masayang-masaya ako na tinanggap niya yung character na Armando dahil wala akong ibang naiisip na ibang lalake na pwedeng gumanap na mas magaling pa sa kanya,” she proudly stated.